My Onīchan
by Panthermonspartner
Summary: This is the story of a young storm wizard named Audra Eucliffe. She wants more than anything to be as strong a wizard as her Onīchan Sting. But strength doesn't always come easy, and not always in ways that are expected. Sometimes it takes great sorrow to find inner strength.
1. Chapter 1

**My Onīchan**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is the story of a young storm wizard named Audra Eucliffe. She wants more than anything to be as strong a wizard as her Onīchan Sting. But strength doesn't always come easy, and not always in ways that are expected. Sometimes it takes great sorrow to find inner strength.

"What did you say Ice prick!?" The pink haired fire Dragon Slayer growled, his fists ablaze. "You heard me flame brain. There is no way you and Lucy could have taken out 20 Vulcans in ten minutes." The guilds resident ice wizard said, leaning back in his chair and casually showing off his mostly naked body. "Natsu! Gray! No fighting in the guild hall! Take it outside!" The stern voice of Erza Scarlet commanded, causing the two wizards to glare at each other and storm towards the doors.

But when Natsu opened the doors both of them froze in surprise and blinked seeing a ragged and beat up young girl, who looked to be maybe 11 or 12, about the same age as Wendy. "Please…help me." She said weakly before passing out. Natsu caught her without hesitation and yelled "Somebody get Wendy!"

Far away in another guild in Fiore a muscular blonde mage was looking around his guild hall with slight worry. "Hey Lector, you seen Audra around anywhere?" He asked his partner. The rust colored exceed shook his head "Not since your spar with her yesterday Sting-kun." Sting nodded "That's what worries me." He sighed and decided his only option was to ask Minerva, nothing went on in Sabertooth without her knowing about it.

He walked to the table where she was sitting and bowed slightly, knowing that every bit of respect he used would increase his odds of getting help. "Yes?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow in surprise at Sting's actions. "I was wondering if you'd seen Audra recently. I haven't seen her since yesterday." He said calmly, mentally praying she'd decide to be merciful and tell him.

Minerva let a small smirk work its way onto her face; she did love watching other people's misery. "Yes, last I saw her yesterday evening when Master expelled her from the guild." "He what?!" Sting yelled in stunned surprise. "Why?!" "What does it matter?" Minerva replied. "Because she is my little sister." Sting nearly growled, clenching his hands into fists to try and control his anger. Minerva narrowed her eyes and stood. "She was expelled because she is weak, a useless piece of trash mage that Master only allowed in because you were in his favor. Sabertooth has no place for the weak."

"Of course she's weak! She's a child! That's the reason I wanted her to be in the guild, so she could get stronger!" He yelled, dangerously close to losing his temper. "She lost a fight. Just like any other member who dishonors the name of Sabertooth she was expelled. You were lucky Master took pity on you for your loss." Minerva said as if reprimanding him. Sting's eyes widened and his magic flared around him in fury "She was fighting me for training! It was a goddam sparring match!" He snarled and leapt at Minerva.

By now the entire guild was watching, many of them silently agreeing with Sting. Minerva remained calm and simply held up her hand, her magic sending Sting crashing to the ground. He stood and tried to attack her again but she just sent him to the ground once more. This continued again and again, the Dragon Slayer's fury masking all rational thought. The guild hall was silent aside from the sound of Sting's body hitting the wooden floors, eventually splintering the spot where he fell.

It didn't take long though for his anger and adrenaline to burn out until the point came where instead of attempting to attack again, Sting slowly stood and glared at Minerva. "Rogue was right; this isn't a guild, its Jiemma's personal military." He gave a bitter laugh and turned away from Minerva, limping towards the door. The guild was silent in confusion, unsure of what Sting was doing. Lector looked frightened and unsure, not understanding what was happening. Sting turned and said "Call this my official expulsion. I quit this army." He smirked and his Sabertooth mark evaporated into nothingness.

There was a collective gasp throughout Sabertooth; even Minerva was stunned, though she merely looked angry. Lector's eyes were wide and he ran after Sting as he limped away from the guild.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Where are you going Rogue?" Sting asked his friend in confusion, seeing the shadow Dragon Slayer packing his belongings in a bag. "I'm leaving Sabertooth. I don't want to be a part of a guild that punishes weakness. If losing means I'm expelled then so be it. That's one thing I learned from Natsu-sama, no real guild would do something like that, only an army would. And I'm sorry you don't see things the same way I do. I hope we have a chance to meet again someday Sting and that we may be on the same side." Sting was in too much shock to even register the tiny smile of pity on Rogue's face. "If you ever wish to find us, I'll be staying where we first met. Goodbye Sting." Rogue opened the window and jumped out, landing silently as Frosch flew out behind him. Sting bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood, but he wouldn't cry no matter how much he wanted to. _

"Sting-kun!" Lector yelled, pulling Sting out of his memories. "Are you crazy?!" The exceed demanded, panting from exhaustion of running for so long. Sting smiled a little at Lector. "For what? Leaving Sabertooth or leaving without supplies or money?" Sting questioned bitterly. He leaned down and picked up his partner, letting him sit on his shoulders as he limped on. "C'mon we've got a long way to go if we want to find Rogue and hopefully Audra." Lector looked worried but sighed, hoping Sting knew what he was doing.

Minerva glared at the guild doors before growling and pointing at a random wizard "You! Go destroy all of his belongings! Give me anything of value but destroy everything else!" The wizard's eyes widened before nodding and bowing in fear. Minerva stormed out of the hall and to the Master's office. She bowed quickly before looking at her father. "Do you wish me to go after him Father?" Jiemma didn't move his pupiless eyes unchanging.

"No. He will learn soon enough that life in the real world is far from the life he was given in Sabertooth. He is nothing more than trash." The man spoke with no emotion. Minerva nodded and smirked "Even if he did fail the test you created for his loyalty, we still weeded out weakness from Sabertooth."

As the sun set in Fiore, the young healer of Fairy Tail finally emerged from the infirmary. She was breathing a little heavily from the amount of magic she'd used but took a deep breath before walking down to explain what was going on to everyone. "I managed to heal most of her injuries, she still has some bruises and scrapes but I can't do anything about those. She's sleeping right now but she should be awake by morning." "That's good to hear, maybe then we can get some answers about who she is and what happened." Levy said.

"There is one more thing. Based on her injuries, I think most of them were magic inflicted, someone, multiple magic users most likely, attacked her." Wendy said, sending an eerie quiet throughout the guild. They were all sharing the same thought; whoever attacked that girl could come here after her. "She is the only one that can tell us what truly happened, and until the time comes where she becomes our enemy, we will protect her as if she were a member of our guild. That is what Fairy Tail is about, taking in those who need and giving them a place to call home." Makarov said calmly and proudly, a cheer rising from the guild.

Wendy smiled and went back to the infirmary to keep monitoring the strange girls healing. Gradually the guild emptied out as the members went home for the night. Mira came up to the infirmary to clean up a little before she went home and was surprised to find Wendy still in there. "Oh Wendy, I thought you went home already? Would you like me to walk with you back to Fairy Hills?" The older woman offered with a kind smile. Wendy smiled and shook her head "No thank you Mira-san. I think I'm going to spend the night here, I want to make sure someone is here when she wakes up." Mira shrugged and said "Okay, see you in the morning then. Good night."

A few minutes later Wendy heard the front door close and lock. It wasn't the first time Wendy had spent the night at the guild and she wasn't alone here, Master stayed in one of the guest rooms as did a few others, but it was still a little unnerving for the young Dragon Slayer. She decided to get some sleep and laid down in one of the infirmary beds, closing her eyes.

But a moment later they shot back open upon hearing the injured girl beside her stir and mutter "Sting-nīchan." Wendy held back her gasp of surprise, there was no way she could be referring to the same Sting Wendy thought of. Sabertooth's Dragon Slayer Sting, the wizard who had almost beaten Natsu-san and Gajeel-san back at the Grand Magic Games. Wendy sat up and looked at the girl again.

She did look similar to Sting, the same light blonde hair, styled into a spiky pixie bob. She had the same angular face shape as well. But Wendy hadn't seen a Sabertooth mark anywhere on her when she had been healing her injuries. Unless the mark was somewhere where Wendy didn't want to look, then the girl didn't have one. Is that what had happened to her? Had she been expelled from the guild the same way Yukino had been? Wendy looked at her with pity and figured it was better and ask her when she woke up then to make assumptions that might not be true.

"_Who are you supposed to be?" A smug looking Sting asked the little girl standing before him. "Go find your parents kid. This isn't a place for you." He said before turning away. "I don't have parents anymore. I only have my__Onīchan." She replied. "Well go find him then." He said, rolling his eyes. "I already did." She said with a smile. _

"_C'mon Sting-nī!" "Slow down Audra-chan, we have to wait for Rogue and Frosch." Sting chuckled at her. "We're gonna miss the train to Shirotsume!" She said excitedly. "No we won't." Sting said, rolling his eyes. "Yes we will." She replied indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. "No we won't." He said, narrowing his eyes. The two began to argue when Rogue walked up, raising an eyebrow seeing the siblings fight. "If you two are done, we have a train to catch." He said. "See I told you so!" Audra said, victoriously. Sting frowned a little but then got a mischievous smile as he grabbed her waist and lifted her into the air upside down. "Then I guess we better hurry." He smiled at her before starting to run down the road, Audra laughing all the way._

"_But I want to watch you win Sting-nī!" "No Audra, I don't want you there without me. I won't be there to keep an eye on you." He said sternly. "I don't need anyone watching me! I'm strong enough to protect myself!" She said, stomping her foot on the ground. "I'm not going to change my mine Audra. You're staying at the hotel." He said, turning and walking towards the door. Audra collapsed on the bed, throwing a temper tantrum, but Sting ignored her, knowing she would do as he asked in the end. As much as he wanted her there to show her how strong he was, he knew that with Fairy Tail back, there was no doubt they'd trained to grow stronger and there was a chance he could lose to Natsu-san. He'd obviously try to win, but no one plans to lose. He couldn't let Audra see that happen._

"_Hurricane!" Audra yelled, a howling cyclone of water and wind blasting at Minerva. The elder wizard held up one hand, causing Aurda's spell to disappear. "Give it up already, you aren't going to win." Minerva said, glaring down at Audra's beaten form. The girl slowly tired to stand but Minerva kicked her in the stomach, knocking her down again. "Lightning!" Audra said weakly, a bolt of lightning lancing at all three of her attackers. Minerva dispelled it, Orga ignored it and the attack hit Rufus' memory clone. "You are weak trash that doesn't even deserve to have the capability for magic, let alone be in a guild like Sabertooth." Minerva snarled, using her magic to fling Audra into a nearby tree. She hit the tree with a sickening sound and whimpered in pain. "Sting-nīchan please help me." She begged and Minerva smirked. "Your Onīsan isn't coming to save you, you little brat. Why would he come to the rescue of a weakling like you?"_

_All three wizards attacked at the same time, causing the young girl to scream in agony. The cloud of dirt and dust cleared to show Audra lying prone on the ground. Minerva scoffed "Nothing more than trash." Before turning and beginning to walk back towards the guild, Orga and Rufus following behind her. All three froze though when they heard Audra stand. They turned to look at her, stunned she was able to stand. She was battered and bloody, her body covered in wounds, but she was standing. "I may be weak…compared to you. But…that's only based on… magic strength. I have strength… you will never have…that no one in your guild…will ever have." She panted heavily, wiping blood from her lip, a small smirk dancing onto her face. "One day…I will have…more magic strength…than even you…Minerva-sama. I promise." She smirked before she was engulfed by a tornado that tore through the forest away from the Sabertooth wizards. "Should we go after her?" Rufus asked calmly. Minerva narrowed her eyes and said "No. She'll run out of magic soon enough and be stranded out here. There is no need for us to waste any more time on that trash." _

_Audra was realizing the same thing, in her haste to make a speedy escape she hadn't thought to check how much magic she had left. Suddenly the tornado she was in disappeared and she fell to the ground in a heap. She forced herself to stand and coughed a few times, grimacing from the blood that came out before she began to limp through the forest, trying to get as far away from Sabertooth as possible. She had to find some place safe to stay until she was well enough to find Sting-nīchan. Audra walked for hours, on the verge of passing out when she finally felt a glimmer of hope. In front of her was a slightly run down looking building, if she could just make it inside she would have a chance to rest. This newfound hope gave her enough energy to limp to the front door. She was about to knock when the doors opened and she saw two people. "Please…help me." She begged before falling unconscious._

The next morning Wendy was tending to Audra's injuries when the girl stirred a little and whimpered softly. "It's alright you're safe now." Wendy said kindly, hoping her words would help. The girl opened her eyes a little and groaned "Where am I?" She stirred and tried to sit up, opening her eyes more. Wendy gently pushed her back down on the bed and said "You're in Fairy Tail. You collapsed at the door yesterday and we healed you. But you still need to rest to give your injuries time to get better. What's your name?"

'Why does that name sound familiar? Fairy Tail.' Audra thought to herself, she knew she'd heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where. "Audra, Audra Eucliffe." She said, blinking a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes. Wendy barely held back her surprised look, there was no doubting it now, this girl, Audra was Sting-san's little sister. Wendy took a deep breath and said "My name is Wendy Marvell." She smiled kindly "Nice to meet you." Audra gave her a weak smile and said "Nice to meet you to."

"Hey Wendy, Mira wanted me to ask if you wanted breakfast." Natsu said, walking in. "Hey you're awake!" He smiled widely. "You want some breakfast to? Mira's pancakes are the best." He offered. The two Fairy Tail wizards turned to look at Audra and were confused by the astonished and slightly frightened expression they saw. "What's wrong?" Natsu asked in worry, Wendy's expression copying his words. Audra gulped a little bit as she realized why Fairy Tail sounded familiar. "Salamander." She whispered softly, recognizing the Dragon Slayer that had beaten Sting-nīchan and Rouge-kun. "Hey kid. You okay?" Natsu said, waving his hand in front of her face.

Audra gulped suddenly and came back to reality. Sting had warned her about Fairy Tail, they were incredibly strong and held a grudge against Sabertooth, if any of them found out she was in Sabertooth then she might not make it out of here at all. She then furrowed her eyebrows in sad realization; she wasn't a member of Sabertooth anymore. They'd kicked her out. "Hello?" Natsu said again, getting impatient.

Audra swung her legs to the side of the bed and tried to stand up "Thank you for your help, but I have to go." But before she could even take one step, her legs gave out and luckily Natsu caught her once more, setting her back down on the bed. "I don't think you can move for a day or two, your legs were hurt pretty badly. I did what I could." Wendy apologized. Audra looked upset 'How am I supposed to find Nīchan now? He'll think I just left or got hurt or kidnapped. He must be so worried and I can't let him know that I'm okay or where I am.' She held her face in her hands and started to sob, causing Natsu's eyes to widen.

"No don't cry! Everything's fine you can leave soon!" he said quickly, trying to get her to stop crying. "Natsu-san can you go get us both some breakfast. I'm sure she's probably hungry." Wendy said to the older Dragon Slayer. Natsu nodded and rushed from the room, trying to get away from the crying girl as quickly as possible. Wendy took a deep breath and sat on the bed, lightly hugging Audra. "I know you're scared. But we won't hurt you; no one here wants to hurt you. I know you're part of Sabertooth."

Audra looked at Wendy confused and fearful, unsure of how Wendy knew. "I heard you calling for Sting last night." Wendy explained kindly "But it doesn't matter. The only reason anyone here dislikes Sabertooth is because of how they treat their members. Fairy Tail is a guild where everyone is treated like family no matter what. Which from what I've been told is a lot different than how things are in your guild. That's what makes us angry, how the wizards of Sabertooth are expelled for losing like Yukino-san was, and how cruel and power hungry your master and that Minerva woman are. Our grudge is against certain members and our hatred is for ideas and philosophies, not every single member." Wendy explained to Audra, hugging her to try and help her calm down.

Wendy pulled back and smiled "Okay? You don't have to worry." Audra sniffed and wiped her eyes before nodding with a small smile. "And if Natsu-san decides to be stubborn and act rudely towards you because you are Sting-san's sister then I'll make him stop." Wendy giggled. Audra smiled and suddenly embraced Wendy, causing the Fairy Tail mage to blink in surprise. "Thank you Wendy-sama." Audra said softly, and Wendy blushed bright red from the respectful suffix. "Don't thank me. That's what Fairy Tail is about, helping mages who need help, no matter what."


	3. Chapter 3

"How much longer Sting-kun?" Lector asked, his stomach grumbling. "We're almost there Lector, hopefully Rogue will be to and have food." Sting said, silently cursing his stupidity at choosing to be dramatic instead of smart and thinking to grab supplies. "And medical supplies for you Sting-kun, you're hurt." Lector said worriedly, looking at his partner as he limped along. "I'm fine Lector, really." Sting said with a chuckle, wiping a bit of dry blood from his forehead.

The pair came to a clearing in the forest in the middle of which was a small cabin. Sting smiled a little seeing it and pushed open the door, his smile dropping a bit finding it empty. Lector hopped off his shoulder and looked around for Rogue or Frosch. Sting went to the kitchen and looked for some food, finding a loaf of bread. Lector came into the kitchen holding a folded piece of paper addressed to Sting. "Here Lector, this is all I could find." Sting smiled a little, handing the Exceed a hunk of bread.

'Sting, if you are reading this note then you decided to come find me. Hopefully because you've realized the same thing I did about Sabertooth. It also means Frosch and I are not there right now. We most likely just went on a job to get some money to buy food and should be back fairly soon. If we don't show up in a week then assume something is wrong. Rogue'

Sting sighed and Lector looked up "What's wrong Sting-kun?" "Nothing, they're out on a job and should be back soon." Sting explained. Lector nodded and said "Why don't we go try and find some more food and surprise them when they get back?" Sting smiled and nodded "Sounds like a plan; we can go hunting or something."

At Lector's insistence, Sting found some bandages and other medical supplies and took care of his wounds before the pair went to go search for some sort of food. Unfortunately they returned to the cabin empty handed as the sun set. "We can try again tomorrow; maybe we'll have better luck." Sting said with a sigh as they got ready for bed.

While Lector was quick to fall asleep, Sting laid in the bed fully awake, his thoughts on Audra. He could only hope she'd found a safe place to spend the night and that she wasn't in any trouble. He knew she could defend herself, but there were still plenty of things that could happen to her. And he wasn't going to be there to save her anytime soon. His eyes drifted closed as he slowly fell asleep.

"_Who are you supposed to be?" Sting asked the blonde little girl standing before him. "Go find your parents kid. This isn't a place for you." He said before turning away. "I don't have parents anymore. I only have my__Onīchan." She replied. "Well go find him then." He said, rolling his eyes. "I already did." She said with a smile. He turned back to look at her with an eyebrow raised in a questioning gesture. She couldn't be saying what he thought she was suggesting, but the smile on her face told otherwise. She suddenly hugged him tightly, her arms coming to his waist. He balked in surprise and froze, unsure what to do or how to react. "Sting-nīchan." She sighed happily causing Sting to blink and look to Rogue for help, though he wasn't much help either since he was just as surprised. _

_Sting took a breath to collect himself and said "Look girly, I don't know who you are or why you think I'm your brother because I don't have any family. Especially not a little sister." He attempted to pry her off of him and felt guilty seeing her frown. "My momma told me to find my Onīchan. She said his name was Sting and he was a wizard in a guild called Sabertooth and that he looked just like me." She said confidently. "You have to admit Sting she does kind of look like you." Rogue chimed in with a little smirk. Sting narrowed his eyes at the Shadow Dragon Slayer and then looked back down at the little girl. "I don't remember much of my human parents but they never had another kid when I was living with them." He said suspiciously. _

"_Momma told me that one day you went camping and got lost and they couldn't find you. She told me that they searched everywhere and everyday for you for years but eventually gave up thinking you were dead. That's when they had me. When she told me this story I asked her if I was just a replacement for you but she said that you'd always wanted a sibling but she hadn't been able to get pregnant until she had me. A month ago they died when some thieves attacked us when we were travelling. That's when she told me to find you." The little girl explained, looking at the ground sadly. "I'm sorry if you don't want to take care of me. You're just the only family I have left and I thought it might make you happy to meet me since momma said you wanted a sibling and" She began to sob softly, interrupting herself. "And I heard you were really strong and I want to be strong to, I tried to get stronger but I don't know what to do." _

_Her sobs were cut off when Sting crouched down to her level and drew her into a hug, unsure why he even did it besides something telling him to. She began to cry into his shoulder, clutching him for dear life. "Hey it's okay. Maybe I don't know you but that doesn't mean I don't believe you. I'm glad to finally get to meet my little sister." He said kindly, stroking her hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "Really?" She sniffed, pulling back and wiping her eyes. He nodded with a kind smile and said "Course, I promise." She smiled and hugged him tightly around the neck "Thanks Sting-nīchan." _

"Sting?!" A surprised voice said in the morning, pulling Sting from his dreams. "Eh?" He groaned drowsily, sitting up slowly and running a hand through his hair. He opened his eyes and yawned seeing it was just Rogue and Frosch. He lay back down before his mind comprehended what was going on and he shot back awake. "Rogue! You're alive!" Sting shouted happily, causing Rogue to raise an eyebrow. "I did leave a note explaining." Rogue said emotionlessly.

"I'm still glad to see you in person." Sting smiled, getting out of the bed. "It's nice to see you to, but why are you here?" Rogue said, crossing his arms over his chest. Sting looked down at the ground and sighed "I left Sabertooth." Rogue's eyes widened and he said "Why? You loved it there." Sting scoffed "Yeah until Minerva-sama expelled Audra because she lost a spar with me. I realized that you were right about them. And, I'm sorry for not seeing what you did."

Rouge was surprised; Sting rarely apologized unless he truly felt like he needed to. And then Rogue felt a surge of anger, they had kicked Audra-chan out for something like that?! "I didn't know where else to go." Sting said, leaning against his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. "I got too caught up in being dramatic and didn't bring anything with me, money, food, clothes, nothing." He sighed in frustration. Rogue put a hand on Sting's shoulder and said "Don't worry about it. Right now let's worry about finding Audra, who knows what Minerva might have done along with kicking her out."

Sting paled a little and said "I hadn't even thought of that. What if she's hurt? Or stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing to get herself to safety? Or attacked by thieves or thugs or another guild?" He began to panic and Rogue sighed "Sting, calm down. We both know she is strong enough to take care of herself." "You're right." Sting said with a sigh of relief. "You're right." He repeated, reassuring himself. "We'll find her. She can't have gone too far right?" Rogue said, knowing he had to keep Sting calm or else he might go crazy. "Now let's eat and then we can start looking for her." Rogue suggested, walking to the kitchen to prepare some of the food they'd gotten.

(Later)

"Do you have any idea which way she went? Did Minerva tell you anything?" Rogue asked. Sting sighed and shook his head "Unfortunately no. And I stormed out before I thought to ask." He groaned, feeling dumb. "Then I guess we start at the guild and hope we can get her scent." Rogue said, helping Frosch onto his shoulder. Sting nodded and the group left the cabin, just like before when they went on missions together. Each Dragon Slayer had a bag slung over his shoulder, one with food and the other with camping and medical supplies.

It was a day's walk to Sabertooth and it was getting dark by the time they got there. While Sting and Lector set up camp in the forest, Rogue got an idea. "Frosch can you fly up to the window of our old room and see if any of Sting's belongings are still there? Be careful not to get spotted." Frosch nodded and flew off to do as he was asked. She flew to the window and peeked inside; frowning when she realized the room was as bare as any other unoccupied room.

She flew back and shook her head at Rogue, Sting and Lector slightly suspicious but not asking. They ate their dinner and soon fell asleep, confident they could take anything that might decide to attack them in the night. When the sun rose, Sting was the first to wake up. He decided to run around the guild hall quickly to try and find Audra's trail, hoping he would find the trail.

He'd almost made a full circle around the guild when something was noticed by his Dragon Senses. Audra's unique scent, the smell of nature after a storm and flowers, mixed with blood and magic. Sting let out an involuntary growl and ran back to their camp. "I found her trail." He announced, seeing Rogue and the Exceed's were awake. "You did?" Rogue said, sounding excited. Sting nodded "We need to hurry; I think you were right about Minerva doing something to her, the smell of blood is there to."

They followed Sting back and Rogue nodded "You're right I smell it to. Let's go." They ran down the invisible trail, letting their senses guide them. They came to a clearing and Sting narrowed his eyes seeing the damaged trees and signs of a fight. "Minerva was here to." He growled, "Rufus and Orga as well." Rogue added with a frown. The pair of Dragon Slayers and their Exceeds continued after Audra, following her scent, silently hoping that whatever Minerva had done to her wasn't fatal.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days had passed since Audra had arrived at Fairy Tail, her wounds were fully healed and her situation explained to the rest of the guild. Like Wendy had said there was some initial distrust from many of the members but that had quickly faded when she assured them she hated Sabertooth as much as the rest of them and had only stayed because of Sting and her desire to grow stronger.

After that was cleared up, Audra was treated like any other member of the guild. She became close to Mirajane who was like a mother figure for her, and got to know Wendy more. Whereas the before Wendy didn't have any girl's her age to talk with, she now had Audra, therefore the two became as close as sisters and were rarely apart. An unforeseen friendship with Romeo also occurred, the trio of tweens spending most of their time together. While at first it had made Macao a bit nervous, especially when Wakaba referred to Romeo as a ladies' man, Macao did relax and was glad his son had others his age to hang out with.

"Dad, Wendy, Audra and I are going to town for the festival!" Romeo called from the door, the two girls waiting for him outside. Macao nodded and smiled "Have fun, be back by sunset!" Romeo waved and ran out the door, causing Macao to chuckle before turning back to the bar. "Those three are inseparable." Mira laughed, picking up a dirty glass. "I know what you mean. But I'm glad for them, Romeo needed some friends." Mira chuckled and said "And now he has to deal with two girls instead of just one. I hope for his sake he can handle it."

"What do you mean?" Macao questioned. "Well he and Wendy are so cute together, but so are he and Audra. I don't know whose babies would look cuter!" Mira gushed with hearts in her eyes, Macao sweat-dropping in response. The other members of the guild nearby who overheard were laughing and Wakaba slapped Macao's back teasingly "Guess Mira already sees you as a grandpa eh Macao?"

"Oh Wendy look over there!" Audra smiled, running to watch a street performers act. "Wow!" Wendy agreed, watching the performer create intricate shapes out of tree branches using wood magic. "It's not that cool; my purple fire can do that." Romeo scoffed. "Ooh it can?" Audra said excitedly "Show us!" She smiled. Romeo smirked and took a few steps back before using his magic, the purple flames creating the shape of fish in midair.

Audra and Wendy smiled and Romeo made the shape of a cat chasing a mouse, causing the girls to laugh. "Ready to see something really cool?" He smirked, earning eager nods from the girls. Romeo took a deep breath to collect his magic before creating a giant purple dragon in the air. "Wow!" Audra gasped and Wendy looked amazed. "That's amazing!" they agreed, making Romeo blush a little bit. He extinguished his fire and the girls clapped, making him blush harder.

"C'mon let's go get something to eat, that made me hungry." Romeo smiled. As the trio walked towards the food stands they passed by some games. "Hey little lady want to try your hand at winning a stuffed kitten?" A vendor asked Wendy with a smile. "Or better yet young man why don't you try and win prizes for your dates." He winked, causing all three to blush. Audra looked at the prizes "Why don't we all try to win something? So we have a souvenir of a fun day?" She suggested.

"Whatever floats your boat miss." The man smiled and said "Tell you kids what, I'll give you each a free chance because I'm in a good mood." They stepped up to the booth and he said "All you have to do is knock down one of those towers of blocks, it's simple." He handed them each four balls and took a step back. Audra looked at Wendy and winked before whispering "Tornado" and throwing the ball. The magic engulfed ball easily knocked over her tower and Audra jumped in excitement.

The man saw her trick but didn't say a word. Wendy smiled a little and copied Audra's idea, using a bit of sky magic on her ball to knock the tower over. Romeo realized what they were doing, but since he had no wind magic himself he just carefully aimed and threw as hard as he could, the blocks falling with ease. "Nicely done." The man clapped as the kids high fived. "Choose any prize you'd like." He smiled. Audra pointed at the white stuffed dragon she'd spotted, "The white dragon please sir." It reminded her of Sting and his Dragon Weisslogia. "I want the red dragon!" Romeo announced "Natsu-nii will be so jealous I bet it looks just like Igneel!" Wendy was a bit sad there wasn't a silver dragon like Grandine but said "Could I have that white cat?" The man smiled and handed them each their prizes "Have a nice day kids."

They thanked him and headed for the food stands "I think he saw us cheating." Wendy whispered, looking at the cat. "Yeah I think so to, but he obviously didn't care." Audra smiled. "You're so strong Romeo to be able to do that without using magic like we had to." Wendy commented, causing Romeo to blush. They got their food and ate under one of the big trees in the park, talking and laughing until the sun began to set. "We should start going back, my dad said to be back at the guild by sunset." Romeo said. "Okay." Audra yawned a little bit, tired after a long fun day.

They got back to the guild and said hello to everyone before all three sat down at a table and promptly passed out with smiles on their faces. "Told you they were cute couples." Mira giggled from behind the bar. Even the rowdiness of the Fairy Tail guild couldn't wake the exhausted kids, at least until Natsu let out a growl and the guild fell silent. Romeo stirred and yawned "Natsu-nii? What's going on?" "Natsu?" Lucy asked cautiously.

The doors to the guild burst open with a thud and everyone turned to look, gasping at who they saw.

(10 minutes ago outside Fairy Tail)

"How could her scent lead here? Did those Fairies kidnap her?!" Sting growled, his eyes narrowing. Rogue looked suspicious and said "I'm sure they didn't kidnap her, why would they of all guilds do that? That's not like them." "Fro thinks so to!" Frosch agreed. "Why else would she come to Fairy Tail though?" Lector said. "We have to go save her!" He continued. Sting nodded and ran at the doors, Rogue groaning in frustration but running after him as Sting kicked open the doors and growled "Where is she?!"

"What are you doing here!?" Natsu snarled his fists igniting as he glared at Sting. "You Saber's aren't welcome here!" Gajeel growled, forming his sword arm and stepping in front of Levy. The rest of the guild agreed, preparing themselves to fight. Sting growled and said "Give her back." His fists engulfing in white magic. "We don't know who you're talking about." Erza said, drawing her sword. "Yeah so get the hell out of our guild." Gray added, preparing his magic.

Romeo shook Wendy a little to wake her up and said "Sabertooth's Dragon Slayer's are here, everyone's about to fight!" Wendy woke up instantly and her eyes widened seeing Sting and Rogue. She looked at Audra and shook her "Audra wake up, Sting's here, your Onīchan is here!" "Wha-what?" Audra said drowsily, before her eyes fell on Sting.

She gasped in excitement and yelled "Sting-nīchan!" She clambered over the table and ran at her brother, ignoring the Fairy Tail wizards between them. "Au-chan!" He gasped, crouching down to embrace her happily. "I'm so glad you're safe. We thought Minerva had done something horrible to you." He said quietly, ignoring the angry Fairy Tail wizards before them. Wendy realized what was going on and pushed her way through her guildmates to stand in front of Sting and Rogue as if protecting them.

"Wendy what are you doing?! They're our enemy, they're Sabertooth wizards!" Natsu said in disbelief. Wendy frowned and said "No they aren't. They only came to find Audra-chan." "You mean you didn't kidnap her?" Lector said in confusion. "Why would we kidnap her?!" Erza asked in astonishment. "Well why else would she come here?" The Exceed said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Lector-nyan." Audra said, looking at the Exceed. "I came here because it was the only safe place I could find. I didn't have a choice. Minerva-sama did do something, she and Rufus-sama and Orga-sama attacked me when I was leaving Sabertooth. I passed out here and Wendy-sama healed me." Audra explained. Rogue nodded a little and said "I thought it was something along those lines." He turned and bowed to Fairy Tail and then again to Wendy. "Thank you for taking care of her Wendy-sama, we were very worried." Wendy blushed and nodded with a small smile.

"Sting." Rogue said, waiting for Sting to say something, he may not like them but they did save his sister. Sting growled a little but muttered "Thanks kid." Wendy nodding a little in response. He looked down at Audra and said "Now let's get out of here. It reeks of Fairies." Natsu growled but it was ignored. She frowned at him and sighed, sounding upset. "Oh okay. Can I say goodbye to my nakama?" She asked and Sting frowned a little, narrowing his eyes. "You're what?" He questioned. "My nakama, my friends." Audra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sting still looked confused but Rogue said "Of course Audra-chan."

Audra pulled away from the confused Sting and hugged Wendy tightly. "Thank you for being one of my first friends and teaching me about nakama. I'll never forget you Wendy." She said. Wendy hugged her back, feeling tears start to brim in her eyes. "Don't thank me Audra-chan. I'm happy to be your friend. You're always welcome here, I promise." Romeo realized he may not see Audra again for a very long time and quickly came forward to hug Audra and Wendy at the same time. "I'll miss you Audra." He said sadly. "I'll miss you to Romeo-kun." She replied.

While most of the guild was trying to hold back tears at the heartfelt goodbyes, Mirajane thought of an idea. She took advantage of the distraction and walked up next to Rogue. "They'll be sad to see her go. They don't have anyone else their age, having her here was a wonderful thing for them." She said quietly. Rogue held back his surprise at her sudden appearance. "We can't stay. We don't belong in a guild like this." He said emotionlessly. "You may not, but she does. Can't you see that? She's only been here three days and she is already like family to all of us." Mira replied, watching Audra move on to say individual goodbyes to the rest of Fairy Tail.

"And who says you don't belong here? She told Wendy, Master and I how you left Sabertooth because you didn't agree with them. That's how we all feel here. You share our beliefs." She commented. Rogue realized she was right and sighed softly "That may be so, but your guild will never be able to look past my time in Sabertooth or my role as your enemy. Besides there is no reason for me to stay if neither Sting nor Audra is."

"You should join a guild; there is no reason to live life in isolation because you feel you will not be accepted. Look at Gajeel, there was a time when he was responsible for destroying our first guild hall. The one we'd called home for longer than Master has been alive. Yet he is now one of the strongest and most dedicated to our guild. Juvia was in the same guild as Gajeel and kidnapped and tortured Lucy. Kiana was a massive flying snake that tried to kill Natsu and was part of a group who wished to swap light for darkness in order to take over the world. Wendy was part of a guild of ghosts that only remained in this world to watch over her. And my brother Elfman and I thought ourselves responsible for killing our own sister. Yet here we all are. Proud members of Fairy Tail and part of a family. All you've done is follow orders, sure you may not have stood up for what you truly believed in, but all that matters is what you did in the end."

No one realized the guild had fallen silent and everyone was listening to Mira's speech. Not a sound was made for a few minutes aside from the sound of some people crying with pride. "I suppose you are right Mirajane-san. Wallowing in self-pity does not make for an enjoyable life, or a successful one." Rogue said with a tiny smile. Audra looked at him with a smile, realizing what he was implying. Audra looked at Sting and said "Sting-nīchan?" Sting had his hands clenched to fists, realizing that yet again Rogue was right. And then there was Audra. How could Sting even think about tearing apart all these friendships she'd made when she'd had so few friends in her life?

But then there was the issue of being in the same guild as Natsu-san. Based on how he'd acted when they'd arrived, they'd be on the receiving end of his hatred at all times, and even if he never physically did anything, it'd still be emotionally frustrating. Audra seemed to pick up on Sting's apprehension and looked at Natsu. "Natsu-san, you never did tell me why you hated my Onīchan?" She questioned and Natsu looked a bit flustered. "Was it only because he was a member of Sabertooth?" She continued, causing Natsu to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I guess so. When I first met him in Crocus it made me furious to see how cocky and cruel he was acting towards people who didn't deserve it." His hands became fists and he looked livid with anger. "And then with what happened to that Yukino chick, it made me hate Sabertooth and he was the one I felt like I should take it out on. Not to mention that whole fight we had at the games. But come to think of it, besides that first evening and words said in our fight, I should have been angry with Sabertooth as a whole and their master and that Minerva chick." He sighed and looked at Sting "So I guess I should say sorry about that."

All of Fairy Tail was stunned when Natsu apologized to Sting and it was easy to see that the former Sabertooth wizards, excluding Audra, were just as amazed. Sting opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the right words. "I-I uh thank you Natsu-sama." Sting said quietly, as if he didn't believe what he was saying. Audra and Mira just smiled and Audra looked at Master Makarov. "I'd like to request permission for myself, my Onīchan, Rogue-kun, Fro-nyan and Lector-nyan to join your guild Master Makarov." She smiled and bowed a little.

"And what is your reason behind this desire?" Makarov asked, wiping tears from his eyes. Audra smiled and said "I wish to be with both my families, that related by blood and the other of the friends I've made. And in order to better myself as a wizard and as a person so I can protect the people I care about." Half the guild was in tears or close to it as she spoke, including Sting. He was amazed and proud of his sister and how mature she'd become since she'd shown up on Sabertooth's doorstep five years ago. "I give you my permission and my blessing." Makarov sobbed with a smile. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" He said proudly as the guild erupted into a cheer.

Sure they may not trust Sting and Rogue completely, but then again they hadn't trusted any of the people Mira had mentioned when they first joined. And they had all turned out just fine and many had become valuable members of the guild. Rogue watched with a small smile as Audra was thrown up into the air in joy by the guild that she was now a part of, that they were all now a part of. Sting still was so sure about this, but that was due to the thoughts and misgivings he'd held for so long towards Fairy Tail, thoughts that were now being forced to change. It'd be a long time before he felt as at home in this guild as Audra did. His eyes met Natsu-sans and Gajeel-sans, their expressions telling him the same thing, he may be an official member of Fairy Tail but he was not considered nakama the same way his sister was. None of the former Twin Dragon's of Sabertooth were.

But as long as Audra was happy, that was all that mattered. They no longer had to worry about being the very best to stay in a guild or what may happen if they lost or said something wrong to Minerva or worry about accidentally doing something Jiemma saw as disgraceful to Sabertooth.

Sting allowed himself to smile seeing Audra thrown up in celebration and at how quickly a party began in her honor, well their honor, but mostly hers. That was the moment he finally understood the true meaning of nakama. It didn't just mean friends; it was so much more than that. It was the desire to protect each other at the risk of themselves. It was the greatest strength in the world that so many people in the world desired and it was the strength that defeated the guild that thought themselves unbeatable. It wasn't a spell or type of magic. It was nothing more than the bond shared between friends that made them closer to family.

It may take weeks, months, years even for Sting and Rogue to achieve that strength, but one day they would and by leaving Sabertooth behind wholeheartedly, they were on the path to sharing that power that made Fairy Tail the undisputed strongest guild in the world. The power that made them unbeatable. The power that made dark guilds tremble in fear and rose cheers from people who had only heard tales of this guild. It was the thing that made Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail.


End file.
